Government investment in research and development is vital for U.S.

8:40 PM,
Apr. 18, 2014

Written by

Lee H. Hamilton

Five years ago, the federal government spent $169 billion to fund basic research and development. This fiscal year, that funding is down to $134 billion.

People who believe in public belt-tightening applaud drops such as this, but - in this case - they're wrong. We need to boost the government's investment in research and development, not slash it.

Let's begin with the federal government's record, which is nothing short of impressive. The bar codes that revolutionized inventory control and tracking were developed with a grant from the National Science Foundation. Google's founders ...